Today’s multifamily renters put substantial weight in the reviews and opinions of friends, family, and strangers on the internet. Before contacting an apartment community, they will have consulted a variety of digital touchpoints – from search ad to Yelp reviews. Incorporating the voice of your customers into your branding can help attract news leads by showcasing your strengths through the power of empathy and experience. From testimonials on your website to leveraging content created by your renters on social media, using voice of customer can help drive more qualified leads.  

What is Voice of Customer?

According to Qualtrics, “Voice of the Customer (VoC)” describes your customer’s feedback about their experiences with and expectations for your products or services. VoC helps marketers focus on customer needs, expectations, understandings, and product improvement. Capturing and acting on customer feedback helps you understand the complex decision-making process a prospect undergoes while searching for their next home. Gather customer feedback in order to visualize the gap between their expectations from your brand and their experience.

Tactics for Generating Customer Feedback

The secret to attracting new residents is leveraging the ones you already have. To effectively reach and convert leads online, you need to establish a clear brand identity that builds trust and loyalty with your customer base. Integrating VoC into your marketing strategy helps build trust by sharing stories from your residents and brand advocates.

Social Media — Social media allows for two-way communication with your residents. Tap into their relevant, ongoing conversations and connect by actively participating or quietly observing. Social media helps you have real-time, direct conversations with your residents, allowing you to keep a watchful eye on how your brand comes across to potential residents. Leverage content created by current residents on social media to attract new ones. If a resident shares a great photo of your community swimming pool, you can request approval from the individual to reshare their content — using their voice to reiterate your brand’s advantage.

Online Reviews — Positive and negative reviews help you understand the needs of your residents and can be used to integrate their passions, concerns, and experiences into the VoC for your brand. Encourage residents to leave online reviews on a variety of websites (including your own!) that speak to their experiences at your community. These reviews can be used throughout your marketing strategy — from your website copy to digital advertising.

Customer Interviews —  Feedback can be generated by speaking to your residents directly. Gain insight into their point-of-view regarding your community and then apply their feedback to your marketing strategy to attract new renters. Resident interviews can be conducted one-on-one or in a group setting. Interview tactics may include in-person conversations, phone calls, email, and surveys.

Leverage Voice of the Customer to Attract New Renters

By inserting voice of customer into your marketing campaigns you better your chances of reaching highly qualified leads. VoC connects with prospects on a more personal level than simply describing your features and amenities. Evoke an emotional response from prospects at each touchpoint along the buyer’s journey by integrating VoC.

Integrating the voice of the customer throughout your website copy helps prospects imagine how they will feel upon move-in. Use personal quotes from real reviews and feedback to bring in words that directly reflect the perceptions and experiences that potential renters may expect. Using customer feedback throughout your website copy allows you to speak to prospects with relevant content that connects with their expectations. Include client testimonials throughout your website. Capture how it feels to be a resident living in your community through the website photography. Your website can also be used to obtain reviews, comments, questions, and concerns of residents and prospects that can be used to enhance your branding and marketing strategies.

VoC can be used throughout your entire marketing strategy from resharing renter photos on social media (with their permission, of course) to your digital advertising campaigns and email marketing efforts. Customer reviews, photos, and feedback help you connect with the right people at the right time with messaging that engages them and connects with their needs on a more personal level.

Reach Highly Qualified Leads

The voice of your customers should be top of mind when crafting your unique brand story. Listen to what residents say to and about you. Your branding and how your brand is perceived by prospects is paramount to your marketing strategy and attracting new renters. No matter where a prospect finds you throughout the buyer’s journey, VoC can be used to connect with them, to make your brand story more effective, and reach highly qualified leads.

Download 20 Digital Touchpoints: The Real Estate Marketer’s Guide to the Buyer’s Journey to ensure your brand connects with prospects every step of the way.